Civil libertarian, FBI agent debate Patriot Act

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, January 24, 2005

While there are fears that the Patriot Act goes too far in giving law enforcement agencies the ability to collect information, a local FBI agent says it hasn't changed his job.

More than 60 people were on hand last week at the United Church of Christ, 4100 Chestnut Hill Drive, to discuss the act in a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Midland area. Guest speakers were John Scalise, chairman of the central Michigan branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, and Walt Reynolds, FBI supervisory senior resident agent at the Bay City office.

The U.S.A. Patriot Act was passed by Congress in 2001 after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It includes various powers the U.S. Department of Justice had wanted before the attacks, and was pushed through, Scalise said, adding it was "cobbled together."

"It had a lot of problems with it," he said.

Scalise listed sections of the bill that clash with the Bill of Rights in three main ways: It strips away the guarantee of probable cause for searches, removes judicial review and defines a terrorist in such a way that a person acting under First Amendment rights could be called a terrorist.

Federal judges have struck down sections in the bill, and those actions are being appealed, he said.

Scalise used numerous examples of ways in which sections of the bill go too far, such as giving law enforcement agencies the right to gather personal information on people without showing probable cause to believe a person has committed a crime. Access to medical, mental health, library, Internet and finance records is allowed.

While those powers are allowed, Reynolds said he still has to convince a judge of probable cause in obtaining a search warrant.

"The Patriot Act hasn't changed anything for me here," he said.

He said the act enhanced the ability of law enforcement officials to gather, analyze and share intelligence, and updated laws to reflect new technology.

Reynolds gave the example of organized crime kingpins who use a new cell phone with a new number each week. Before the act, it would take so long to obtain a search warrant to tap the phone that the person could have a new number by then. Now, a tap can be obtained in time.

He also said many critics of the Patriot Act aren't aware of the tools available to law enforcement before it was enacted.

"I believe there's checks and balances," he said. "We were doing criminal investigations anyway," and now the act allows focus on finances and preventing terrorist attacks, he said.

Audience members asked questions of the pair after their presentations, eliciting more information about the act.